Need some help with diagnosing!

[familiar1985]

Over the course of the last 4 days I have suddenly noticed some of my fish are not eating. I am feeding Mysis.

3 Clownfish are interested in the food but spit it out. Behavior seems normal. They have a few white spots. It is not ich, not sure what it is. see pic.

Flame angel is not eating. Have noticed him darting a bit more then usual i think. No visual signs of anything wrong.

1 Lyretail anthias was not eating, skin was very pale compared to other anthias. Was breathing heavier then normal, and laying down more then usual. Fins very frail and missing sections. This fish died this morning. Missing scales a few hours after death. I currently took it out and put it in fresh water to see if flukes could be a possibility. Anything else I can do to inspect the body to help figure this out.

Tank changes: There is no change in water chemistry and no new introductions to the tank. These fish have all been in the tank for about 6 months. When i first noticed them not eating i checked my uv sterilizer and the light was blocked by deposits. I cleaned it and put the uv back online. It sounds like with the uv becoming ineffective some kind of parasite was allowed to grow in numbers although this is only a 15w uv for a 300gal water volume.

At this point I am unsure whether to wait and see and let these more hardy fish fight off the parasites with the aid of uv or whether i should attempt catching them to QT/Hosp. Any ideas of what this could be and best course of action. Thank you! - Eugene

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

looks like ich.
either way you need to catch then and place in qt for better observation and treatment.

 

[Humblefish]

It sounds like you have a latent parasite problem (I assume FW dip on the anthias showed no flukes?)

The UV was keeping it in check, but no longer. Have you changed out the lamp inside the UV? Back when I was using one, it had to be changed every 6 months in order to remain fully effective.

 

[Ashish Patel]

I am no expert on Ich but the anthias does not seem to have any white spots so could be toxic.. You mentioned parameters are stable and no new additions in 6 months but the ich could have just been dormant.. UV filter will surely help kill floating parasites and hopefully the fishes immune system can fend of the remainder.... Add some garlic to your food and make some good size water change. If you can catch the fishes and QT with copper - this is the best but last resort.. Good luck

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

I am no expert on Ich but the anthias does not seem to have any white spots so could be toxic.. You mentioned parameters are stable and no new additions in 6 months but the ich could have just been dormant.. UV filter will surely help kill floating parasites and hopefully the fishes immune system can fend of the remainder.... Add some garlic to your food and make some good size water change. If you can catch the fishes and QT with copper - this is the best but last resort.. Good luck

just for educational purpose (nothing personal)
there are lots of myths, UV and fish immune system might keeps things at bay for sometime. If tank has ich water changes or garlic will not help either. it will have to be rid of in few known ways. Garlic does nothing to help its just a myth. UV and water changes might help a little but with new additions or stresses there may be more outbreaks that might be bigger/deadlier or may not be but tank will always have ich.
only proven and known remedies for ich are
1. hyposalinity
2. copper treatment
3. tank transfer
4. chloroquine phosphate.

from the pics above, i can see several spots on the 2 clowns, either way fish should be taken out and qt and treated accordingly.

 

[aykwm]

Id check for flukes with FW dip

 

[Ashish Patel]

just for educational purpose (nothing personal)
there are lots of myths, UV and fish immune system might keeps things at bay for sometime. If tank has ich water changes or garlic will not help either. it will have to be rid of in few known ways. Garlic does nothing to help its just a myth. UV and water changes might help a little but with new additions or stresses there may be more outbreaks that might be bigger/deadlier or may not be but tank will always have ich.
only proven and known remedies for ich are
1. hyposalinity
2. copper treatment
3. tank transfer
4. chloroquine phosphate.

from the pics above, i can see several spots on the 2 clowns, either way fish should be taken out and qt and treated accordingly.

I can't speak for others and every situation is different but I have seen the effects of UV on my tank vs without.. Once the parasite is multiplying and you have no means to prevent it from spreading it will really increase its power and overwhelm your fish.. I do believe a stress free environment, not overstocking, feeding balance died, and buying from one trust source is best practice, However, the UV is just a insurance not a solution

 

[Ashish Patel]

Take close up picture of your clownfish so someone here can help you identify.

 

[4FordFamily]

Could be a number of things -- I would say if you don't QT there's nearly 100% chance you have ich and/or velvet. Some strains of velvet don't show outward signs in the fish's appearance.

Are any fish swimming in to powerheads? Breathing heavily?

When fish stop eating they're heavily affected by something, and I worry we are dealing with a sinister parasite..

 

[melypr1985]

I agree there is a parasite problem going on here. Freshwater dip would be helpful in diagnosis. QT will likely be needed, so I'd suggest setting one up asap.

 

[familiar1985]

Update - Everyone is eating well yesterday and today. I think there is some parasite that the uv is suppressing. When dipping the dead anthias in freshwater nothing came off. At this point I think the stress of treatment may not be worth it. I will continue to monitor. Also, this is definitely not ich. I would definitely want to have a good diagnosis before considering treatment options. I do have saltwater, tanks, and bio filtration in my sump ready to go should treatment be required. Hopefully it will not be necessary as I have about 12 fish and if its a parasite I would want to treat all 12 to be safe, this would be stressful for the fish and difficult.

Cant seem to get a good close up pic. The clownes just wiggle too much, lol. I'll try again later. No fish swimming into powerheads.

 

[familiar1985]

Could be a number of things -- I would say if you don't QT there's nearly 100% chance you have ich and/or velvet. Some strains of velvet don't show outward signs in the fish's appearance.

Are any fish swimming in to powerheads? Breathing heavily?

When fish stop eating they're heavily affected by something, and I worry we are dealing with a sinister parasite..

Everything in tank was QT'd except the clowns. I have had the clowns for 2-3 years in a different tank with one fish (no uv on that tank). All additions were treated with praziquantel and TTM.

 

[familiar1985]

It sounds like you have a latent parasite problem (I assume FW dip on the anthias showed no flukes?)

The UV was keeping it in check, but no longer. Have you changed out the lamp inside the UV? Back when I was using one, it had to be changed every 6 months in order to remain fully effective.

I am using Aqua UV they claim that lamp should last 14 months. Surely it is not as effective toward the end of the lifespan. I'll make sure to have replacement on hand and change it out at 12 months unless I see changes. When i pulled the quartz sleeve a week ago it was blocking 100% of the light with deposits so it was really not running effectively for months possibly. FW dip showed no flukes but I am unsure if flukes abandon host at death.

BTW, i originally only purchased this UV to get rid of an algae bloom faster. It accomplished this very fast. After I kept it online as i noticed better water clarity.